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Past Newsmakers

Summer 2010 Newsmakers

LOUIS BONALDI, M.D. was named one of America's top plastic surgeons by the Consumers' Research Council of America for the ninth consecutive year. Criteria included experience, training, professional associations, and board certification. Dr. Bonaldi is the head of the Center for Plastic Surgery and Dermatology in Reno, NV. He is also both a painter and concert pianist.

FRANK FRAZETTA, a comic book artist, who also created the paperback cover illustrations of "Tarzan" and "Conan the Barbarian," died of a stroke May 10 at age 82 in Fort Myers, FL. Frazetta began his career as a teenager, drawing pencil-and-ink comic books. He went on to create movie posters, album covers, and paperback novel covers. Brooklyn-born, Frazetta had his own racing car strip called "Johnny Comet" by the time he was 24. Later, he drew movie posters for such films as Woody Allen's "What's New Pussycat?" and Clint Eastwood's "The Gauntlet." After a stroke in 1995, Frazetta taught himself to paint left-handed.

DANA GIOIA, former chair of the National Endowment for the Arts and an award-winning poet, has been appointed one of 14 council members on the Citizens' Stamp Advisory Committee (CSAC). The committee is responsible for evaluating thousands of Americans' stamp suggestions and recommending for approval approximately 20 per year

SANTO LOQUASTO, a scenic and costume designer for theatre, film and dance, received the 26th annual Helen Hayes Award for Outstanding Costume Design in April. The Helen Hayes Awards honor excellence in professional theatre throughout the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area. Loquasto was recognized for his work on "Ragtime." He also has won three Tony awards for best costume and scenic design.

FRANCESCA SCHIAVONE became the first Italian woman to win a Grand Slam singles title after beating Samantha Strosur of Australia in the 2010 French Open finals on June 5. Seeded No. 17 in the tournament, Schiavone upset No. 7 seed Strosur, who had beaten her four out of the five previous times they had played each other. Schiavone is now ranked sixth in the world, making her the highest ranked Italian woman ever. At 30, she is the oldest woman to win her first Grand Slam title since Ann Jones in 1969. She has been playing professionally since 1998.

GIULIETTA SIMIONATO, one of the greatest opera sopranos of the 20th century, died May 5, in Rome at age 99, one week before her 100th birthday. Simionato sang for more than thirty years in opera houses around the world. Beginning in the 1930's, she worked with some of the greatest artists of her time, including Renata Tebaldi and Maria Callas. By the time she retired in 1966, Simionato had performed as a mezzo-soprano singer-actress in more than fifty roles, both dramatic and comic, including 28 performances at the Metropolitan Opera in New York.